If you’ve read anything about health lately, including any books on the topic or any of my newsletters or social media, you probably already know about the importance of a plant-based diet and a plant slant to the way you eat.
While eating too much meat (especially red and processed meat) in your diet has been linked with inflammation and cardiovascular issues and increased cholesterol, plants (and fungi) have almost all been linked with positive benefits. These benefits aren’t limited to reducing inflammation and improving metabolic health, they also extend to improving your gut health. In fact, plants (including tubers, fungi, leaves, cruciferous…) are what your gut buddies prefer to eat over all other food.
The more plant-based your diet, the more you feed the good gut bacteria responsible for boosting health and longevity. Conversely, the more inflammatory your diet (full of sugar, processed food and drinks, copious not organic meat…) the shorter your healthy lifespan will be.
It’s no surprise then that all five of the Blue Zones have a plant slant to the way they eat. Meat is a rare enjoyment eaten maximum once weekly (and in most of the Blue Zones even less often).
So in case you missed the main point: in areas of the world where more people than anywhere else in the world live to be over a hundred (without the help of medications propping them up), these people eat a mostly plant-based diet. That means loads of salads, plant-based protein and copious vegetables. If this hasn’t sold the idea of plant-based eating to you, I’m not sure what will.
How about that plants extend longevity thanks to copious antioxidants, gut-friendly fibre, inflammation-lowering vitamins and minerals and so much more.
Should you need examples: broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables have been studied in depth for their cancer-preventing properties, kale has been linked to reducing blood pressure and cholesterol naturally (as has avocado, sweet potato, beetroot, garlic and other leafy greens, among others). Mushrooms have been so well studied for their amazing anti microbial, anti parasitic, anti bacterial and anti inflammatory properties that they now have quite a few studies (mainly from Asia where the life-giving benefits of mushrooms have been revered for centuries) showcasing their effectiveness to boost the success of cancer-fighting traditional medical interventions (such as chemotherapy) and their ability to encourage cancer cell apoptosis (the dying off of cancer cells).
Plants (and I include tubers and fungi in this category) are limitless in their health-boosting potential and you should consider it your daily duty to eat at least 8-10 servings (fistfuls) of them if you want to live a healthy and long life filled with youthfulness and vitality.